Methods of Rider Communication (2006)

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25 Before discussing costs reported by agencies responding to the survey, the components of the costs associated with procuring, operating, and maintaining the communication technologies can be summarized as follows. Capital cost estimates for each technology component represent the one-time expenditures through a vendor deployment contract for hardware, software, and services. Normally, an allowance for design, procurement, and implementation support costs and for contingency is included in the capital cost for each technology. Annual oper- ations costs for each communication technology include recur- ring expenditures for items such as incremental staff salaries and benefits, data communications charges, power charges, and training costs. Annual maintenance costs include recurring expenditures for field equipment inspections, preventative maintenance, replacement parts, support for software and computer and network hardware, and incremental mainte- nance staff salaries and benefits. The major cost components associated with agency com- munication technologies are as follows: • Electronic signs at stops and stations – Next arrival and departure prediction software (if the signs will display real-time information), – Interface to AVL system, – Next arrival and departure stop or station sign (hard- ware), and – Power and communication for sign. • On-board electronic sign and audio system (automated annunciation system) – On-board annunciator and in-vehicle display signs, – GPS receiver, – Fixed-end hardware, – Interface to AVL systems (if annunciation system is integrated with AVL system), and – Staff labor or consultant labor to compose text and record audio announcements. • Website – Development labor, – Hosting cost, – Website server, and – Next arrival and departure website application if real- time information to be included on the website. • Internet trip (itinerary) planning system – Itinerary planning software, – Server, and – Staff or consultant labor to maintain data. • IVR system – Software, – Server, and – Application software to incorporate functionality such as real-time information, trip cancellation (for demand response service), itinerary planning, and automated notification (for demand response customers). Responses to the questionnaire regarding the costs of communicating with riders yielded a limited amount of infor- mation. Most of the information that was reported was related to the costs for websites, trip itinerary planning sys- tems, and IVR systems. The reported capital, and operating and maintenance (O&M) costs are shown in Table 8. There is a wide variation in all of the costs reported. For DMSs, the capital costs per sign ranged from $2,700 to $140,000, and the total annual O&M costs ranged from $500 to $13,000. For on-board electronic sign and audio systems, the capital costs per equipped vehicle ranged from $800 to $3,126. The annual O&M costs for these systems were reported by only two agencies and were $5,000 and $76,000. The total capital costs for a website ranged from $4,200 to $550,000. One agency reported that the capital cost of the website was one full-time equivalent. The annual O&M costs for a website ranged from $600 to $250,000. The cap- ital costs of trip itinerary planning systems ranged from $25,000 to $600,000, and the O&M costs from $5,000 to $59,000. The capital costs of IVR systems ranged from $85,000 to $16,000,000, and the O&M costs from $15,000 to $52,700. Two agencies had an agreement with a wireless carrier. The prices between these two varied widely. Three agencies indicated costs for e-mail services, and these also varied widely. CHAPTER FOUR COMMUNICATION COSTS

Agency--> ? Electronic Communication Media AATA BARTA CATA CATS CMTA CSTSD GHTD MCTS Metro OCTA Pierce Transit RVT The T TriMet Electronic sign at transit stop/station Total units 1 1 2 2 10 121 Total capital cost $2,700 $100,000 $10,000 $40,000 $1,400,000 $1,500,000 Total O & M cost $10,000 $500 $2,000 $2,000 On-board electronic sign/audio system (annunciation system) Total units 69 380 76 27 Total capital cost * $304,000 $76,000 $54,000 $3,000,000 Total O & M cost variable $5,000 Website Total capital cost $5,000 $4,200 $36,000 1 FTE** $10,000 $24,000 Total O & M cost $2,000 $60,000 $60,700 $600 $95,000 $5,000 $34,000 Internet trip planning software Total capital cost $42,000 $200,000 $193,000 $40,000 $600,000 $100,000 $25,000 Total O & M cost $8,000 $20,000 $59,000 $5,000 $30,000 $20,000 $35,000 Interactive voice response system Total capital cost $85,000 $16,000,000 $220,000 $87,000 Total O & M cost $15,000 $52,700 $18,000 $16,000 Contract/agreement with wireless carrier Total units 25 Total capital cost $37,500 Total O & M cost $5,000 $20,000 E-mail software Total units Total capital cost $2,000 Total O & M cost $2,000 $12,000 VTA 137 $1,507,000 $13,000 4,084 $12,765,000 $76,000 $550,000 $250,000 $18,000 $127,210 $18,260 $309,500 $232,000 * Part of a larger system. ** FTE = full time equivalent. Blank cells signify that many agencies did not report information in the media categories. (Source: Survey data as reported.) TABLE 8 CAPITAL AND OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS OF COMMUNICATION MEDIA